Palestinian intelligence chief Majod Faraj
Palestinian intelligence chief: We've thwarted 200 attacks against Israel
Majid Faraj, the head of the Palestinian General Intelligence Service, says that security cooperation with Israel will continue in order to prevent extremists such as Islamic State from getting in.
Head of the Palestinian General Intelligence Service Majid Faraj has said that Palestinian security agents have thwarted 200 potential terror attacks against Israel.
Speaking in a rare interview with Defense News – the first interview he has given since assuming his role – Faraj also said that they have confiscated weapons and arrested over 100 Palestinians.
Palestinian police clashing with protesters
He confirmed that security cooperation between PA security services and Israel will continue, in order to prevent further chaos and to stop extremists such as Islamic State members from entering the country.
Faraj also warned that extremist religious groups are a clear danger, not just for the Palestinian Authority itself but also to Jordan and, ultimately, Israel. Nonetheless, Faraj estimated that 90 percent of the Palestinian public is opposed to organizations such as the Islamic State, Al-Qaeda, Jabhat al-Nusra and others.
Majid Faraj, left, looking on as Saeb Erekat greets Benjamin Netanyahu (Photo: Amos Ben Gershom)
This opposition, according to Faraj, can be credited to the president of the PA: "The number of Palestinians supporting them is very marginal, and this is a success of Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas)," he said.
"He changed the culture. But if Daesh (Islamic State) or other extremist groups decide to fight Israel, they will find sympathy in the Arab street.
"(Islamic State) is on our border, and they are looking to find a suitable platform to establish their base," Faraj continued. "Therefore, we must prevent a collapse here, because the alternative is anarchy, violence and terrorism.
"We, together with our counterparts in the Israeli security establishment, with the Americans and others, are all trying to prevent that collapse. They’re already in Iraq, Syria, Sinai, Lebanon and Jordan, but Ramallah, Amman and Tel Aviv must remain immune from them.”
